𝒯𝑜 𝒩𝑒𝓌 𝐵𝑒𝑔𝒾𝓃𝓃𝒾𝓃𝑔𝓈

September 9th, 1993

𝒞𝒽𝒶𝓅𝓉𝑒𝓇 𝐸𝓁𝑒𝓋𝑒𝓃

Defense Against the Dark Arts was... well, just that. A class built around teaching the young witches and wizards about various dangers in their world and how to fight against them. And yet, when Professor Remus Lupin walked in seven minutes late, shabby as ever, telling the class that the first lesson was a practical one, everyone seemed surprised.

Iris's unspoken question was answered by Theodore Nott, "We've never had a practical lesson for DADA before."

The once homeschooled teen seemed even more confused by such news, "Bit odd for a subject about defending oneself to not be entirely practical."

The boy just shrugged, "One teacher was a bumbling idiot and the other a mumbling coward. It was probably for the best."

Iris just blankly stared at the boy's head, her voice monotone as the lone word left her mouth, "Fantastic."

After a small class trip through the halls, a quick run-in with the resident Poltergeist, and a small act of magic by the newest professor, there they were. Outside the staffroom door, a place not one person in that class had ever been.

"Inside, please," said Lupin, opening the door and standing back to allow the class to begin piling in.

The staffroom was just a room, a rather ugly one, but a room nonetheless. Paneled and long, it was filled with old, mismatched furniture. And sat in one of the many chairs was, of course, Severus Snape.

Taking to the back of the room, along with Theodore, Iris's eyes locked onto the man. Watching as a sneer appeared around his mouth, his dark eyes carrying over the incoming crowd.

Sally-Ann, Valeria, and Tracey all appeared at Iris's empty side, Tracey's soft voice surprisingly being the first of the girls to speak, "You don't think he's planning on staying, do you?"

Theodore glanced up from digging through his book bag, brown eyes giving their Head of House a quick once over. Rolling his eyes, Theodore's bored tone answered the question, "Snape doesn't seem to ever voluntarily be around any of us," his eyes shifted to Tracey, "He'll be gone once the doorway clears out."

Returned to his bag, the teen had missed the raised eyebrows and shared glance between Valeria and Sally-Ann. Along with the blush over taking Tracey's face.

Iris, however, did catch the reactions, a smirk finding a way to her lips as she moved her attention to Professor Lupin getting ready to close the door.

"Leave it open, Lupin. I'd rather not witness this," Snape said, finally standing from his seat. Black-robe billowing behind him, the man was just about to leave before stopping.

Turning on his heel, he, of course, couldn't leave without some sort of quip, "Possibly no one's warned you, Lupin, but this class contains Neville Longbottom. I would advise you not to entrust him with anything difficult. Not unless Miss Granger is hissing instructions in his ear."

Neville went scarlet as Snape then turned to lock eyes with his favorite student of the day. The one who happened to already be staring him down, her eyes just a bit brighter with all forms of trouble, "And Miss Blackwell's lack of discipline is becoming an ongoing problem," his cold gaze shot back to Lupin, "Perhaps you will be able to better reach her."

Lupin's eyebrows were raised as he considered the words. For a split second, he even seemed to fight a smile as he addresses the other professor's concern, "Well, Blackwell's have always been trouble; we should know that best. Having spent schooling years with two ourselves.

"And as for Neville, I was hoping that he would assist me with the first stage of the operation," he said, "and I am sure he will perform it admirably."